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Live cattle exports to Vietnam continue despite Australian concerns

Xinhua, March 12, 2015 Adjust font size:

Exports of live cattle from Australia to Vietnam will continue despite fears the animals are treated cruelly at their final destination.

Cattle farmers themselves raised concerns the beasts are bludgeoned with sledge hammers and force-fed water from hoses in Vietnam's north.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on Thursday that Australian exporters have called for emergency talks with officials in Hanoi about the claimed practices at small family- owned Vietnamese abattoirs.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to animal, animal welfare body, wants the Vietnam cattle trade suspended, but Alison Penfold, head of the Australian Livestock Exporters Council, said they were seeking to solve the issue.

"The necessary actions are being taken, will be taken, to ensure that the Australian livestock we export to Vietnam stay where they are meant to stay, are treated appropriately and with humane care, as is our standard," she said.

The Australian government has decided not stop the exports.

Vietnam is a growing market for Australian farmers, with the number of Australian cattle sold into Vietnam increasing from 66, 000 cattle in 2013 to 181,000 last year. Endi